Super Hornet Is No F-35, CNO Richardson Says
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Chief of Naval Operations ADM John Richardson says Lockheed Martin’s F-35 capabilities are “on a completely different level” than Boeing’s F/A-18 Super Hornet, which President-elect Donald Trump suggests may compete against the more advanced stealth jet, reports Investors Business Daily.
Bloomberg reports Trump asked Lockheed Martin to reduce the F-35 costs by 10 percent on the $379 billion stealth jet fighter.
DoD prepared accelerated military options to fight ISIS which includes more US troops into direct combat, reports CNN.com. The options will be ready for Trump as he takes office, to be presented by James Mattis as the new defense secretary and Gen. Joe Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
A T-45C Goshawk Navy jet crashed during a training flight at NAS Meridian in Mississippi, and both the instructor pilot and student safely ejected, reports AP.
Sen. John McCain presents an alternative DoD budget — Restoring American Power: Recommendations for the FY 2018-FY 2022 Defense Budget — advocating a high-low mix of weapons systems to advance the force technologically and keeping up force size, reports Breaking Defense.
Although efforts are ongoing to consolidate civilian agencies into a single Internet network, FCW reports, hackers suggest, while consolidating provides costs savings and efficiencies, to a hacker, a unified Internet network system with more data is just a bigger target.
A giant crack in an Antarctic ice shelf forces scientists at Britain’s Halley VI Research Station to abandon their station for the winter, reports NBC.
The Congressional Budget Office reports 18 million more uninsured in the first year following repeal of Obamacare and 32 million by 2026. The report released this week said premiums would increase between 20 and 25 percent in the first year and double by 2026. Salon’s political Simon Maloy calls the GOP’s new Obamacare repeal a debacle.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan proposes a $17.1 billion budget to rein in spending and fully fund education, reports MDCounties.org. “Because of the fiscal restraint we have instituted over the past two years, while many other states are facing crippling budget shortfalls, we are in much, much better shape than we would have been,” Hogan said.
Contracts:
OST Inc., Washington, District of Columbia, was awarded a $248,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract to provide systems engineering and technical assistance support services for Program Executive Office, Simulation, Training, and Instrumentation; and limited customers related to their mission. Bids were solicited via the Internet with 17 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 17, 2022. Army Program Executive Office, Simulation, Training and Instrumentation, Orlando, Florida, is the contracting activity (W900KK-17-D-0002).
ManTech Systems Engineering Corp., Fairfax, Virginia, is being awarded an $11,238,775 cost-plus-fixed-fee level of effort and cost-only modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-14-C-4110) to exercise an option for specific systems operation, sustainment, and support services for the Navy Ship Maintenance and Logistics Information Systems (SMLIS) program. This option exercise provides uninterrupted enterprise support to the SMLIS program, including engineering support in the areas of information technology life cycle planning, operations and sustainment, documentation, program management, application technical refresh, testing, training, and deployment. These efforts are required to ensure the successful development, deployment, implementation, and operation of the SMLIS program. Work will be performed in Norfolk, Virginia (75 percent); Rocket Center, West Virginia (11percent); San Diego, California (4 percent); Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania (3 percent); Washington, District of Columbia (2 percent); Kittery, Maine (2 percent); less than one percent each in Fairfield, California; Hoover, Alabama; New Orleans, Louisiana; Richmond, Virginia; and is expected to be completed by April 2017. Fiscal 2017 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $1,889,472 will be obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity (N00024-14-C-4110).
